


Insects, Plants, and Ultra-Rare First Editions

by Diary



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Alive Aiden & Allison Argent, Alive Allison Argent & Vernon Boyd & Erica Reyes, Asexual Vernon Boyd, Awkward Conversations, Baker Erica Reyes, Bechdel Test Fail, Canon Character of Color, F/M, Family, Friends Become Romantic Partners, Interracial Relationship, Interspecies Romance, Late Night Conversations, Minor Aiden/Lydia Martin, POV Character of Color, POV Nonhuman, POV Queer Character, POV Vernon Boyd, Post-Season/Series 02 AU, Relationship Negotiation, Romance, Sex Talk, Sharing a Bed, Vernon Boyd-centric, Women Being Awesome
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-25
Updated: 2016-02-25
Packaged: 2018-05-23 02:57:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,466
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6102530
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Diary/pseuds/Diary
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>If he were different, of course, he wouldn’t be able to help but wanting her. Complete.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Insects, Plants, and Ultra-Rare First Editions

**Author's Note:**

> I do not own Teen Wolf.

Boyd wakes to the sound of his window clicking open.

Blinking, he focuses his senses.

Based on the waves of irritation prickling at his skin and the lack of unfamiliar smells, he’s knows tonight was another failure for Erica.

She strips off her shoes, shirt, skirt, and bra before sitting down at his desk to peel her stockings off. Once they’ve hit his wall, she stalks over to his closet, pulls out a shirt, and throws it.

Catching it, he slips it on.

She slips under the covers, and lying on his side, he wraps his arms around her. “Want to talk about it?”

“Tell me I’m pretty,” she demands.

“You’re beautiful."

“Glad you think so,” she mutters. “This one just wanted to say he went on a date with me. I think he likes someone else. And then, when I pointed out how much more it would give him a boost if he could say he slept with me, he- I didn’t do anything that would make Allison get involved.”

He pulls her closer.

“I’m going to die a virgin,” she laments.

“No,” he promises, “you won’t.”

She makes a noise he can’t decipher the meaning behind and closes her eyes. “Thanks, Boyd.”

He listens to her fall asleep.

…

In the morning, she holds her clothes out in front of her. “Maybe something more conservative? Not like before, but I could try something closer to Lydia’s style. At this point, I’d even try Allison’s.”

At this point, Boyd is starting to wonder if there’s any possible way he could justify to himself threatening some boy into having sex with her. There are plenty who want to, he knows. The reasons they don’t range from they’re not ready for such a big step to they know she doesn’t want anything more than sex to they have issues he could never forgive himself for disregarding, no matter how much he wants her to be happy.

“I could try girls,” she says. “There has to be one that wants to experiment, and that’s a definite turn-on for guys, right?”

She gives him a searching look, and he hopes her senses aren’t probing him.

“Some,” he answers.

Rolling her eyes, she puts her clothes back on and motions for him to peek outside his door.

He does. “It’s clear.”

Slipping past him, she disappears into the bathroom.

….

When they get to Shelly’s Bakery, he sees Allison is sitting with Isaac.

“I hate my life,” Erica declares.

Before he can suggest she skip work and they go sneak into the movies, she lets go of his hand and strides in.

Allison gives them a small nod.

Grabbing one of Isaac’s glazed donuts, she goes to the counter to place their orders.

Boyd sits down.

“Bad night,” Isaac inquires.

He nods.

Allison gives them a questioning look but doesn’t ask.

When Erica sits down on his lap, he wraps an arm around her and strokes one of hers with his hand.

“So,” Isaac starts.

Erica’s eyes flash, and Boyd manages not to growl when he hears Allison’s hand slip into her pocket and grip a knife.

“Don’t,” Erica orders. “The shower you both took doesn’t hide it. It doesn’t exactly help that you took it together.”

Flushing, Allison starts to say something, but grabbing her hand, Isaac gives her a pleading look.

“Oh, don’t be like that,” Erica mutters. She leans closer into him, and he reaches up to play with her curls. “As long as you don’t hurt him, I don’t care. I can barely get a boy to kiss me.”

“I’m sorry you had a, uh, bad date,” Allison offers.

Boyd wishes Allison would just give up.

He understands why she doesn’t, but he still desperately wishes.

…

Once everyone’s done eating, Erica breaks the silence with, “I’m not going out tonight. Wash your lacrosse jersey.”

He nods, and she kisses his cheek before detangling herself and going to sign in.

Isaac gives him a look, and he lets his own eyes flash.

Allison looks at them curiously.

Digging his wallet out, Boyd puts down his share of money.

…

When he’s done with his shift at the skating rink, he checks his phone and finds a voicemail from Mrs Reyes.

Bracing himself, he hits play and listens to her terse voice. “Hello, Vernon. I’m going to be out of town for this weekend. Please make sure Erica eats lunch. She has a double shift on Sunday.”

Deleting it, he sees a text from Erica.

_mom sai I cud st8 wit you this weken. Erica #@_

Shaking his head, he adds the appropriate emoticon and types back, _Mom said I could stay with you this weekend._

Almost immediately, there’s a reply: _wat? emoticon. show!_

Biting his lip to keep from laughing, he types back, _I’m calling you. And I’ll try to show you later._

Her ringtone immediately fills the room.

…

“Don’t you ever want to find someone?”

Jumping out of the doze he was falling into, he stares hard at the TV screen. Some sci-fi miniseries is playing, and he vaguely wonders if getting transported into a fictional universe could be conceivably possible. Before Derek, he wouldn’t have thought so, but now, he’s almost desperate to accept the possibility.

“I want to find Alicia,” he answers.

Shame floods him.

It’s a cheap shot, he knows. It’s unfair to her, and even more importantly, it’s unfair to Alicia.

Wiggling, she makes an apologetic noise, but before she can verbally apologise, he quickly says, “Sorry. I- I just wasn’t quite awake.”

The guilt of this defence only deepens the panic threatening to rise inside him. “You’ll find someone,” he promises. “For whatever you want. Sex, dating, marriage. It’ll happen soon.”

Making a dismissive noise, she curls up closer to him. “But what about you? Don’t you want to find a girlfriend or a boyfriend? I know you don’t until it’s serious, but don’t you want to find someone you really like and have sex?”

It seems like so long ago, although, really, it’s only been a year or two, he reflects.

When he first got the bite, he liked Erica well enough, but he didn’t know her. When she wanted to practice kissing and maybe more, he told her he was only going to kiss someone he was serious with and he wouldn’t do anything more unless the relationship was extremely serious.

At the time, he’d been proud of how he handled it. No feelings were hurt, and she’d easily accepted his refusal and completely backed off.

At the time, he didn’t know how much- The things he knew about her, then, didn’t mean what they mean now. She was strong, funny, loyal, an excellent baker, and pretty. He liked spending time around her.

He didn’t expect how much he’d actually come to like spending personal time with her and discover exactly how special and wonderful she truly is.

“I’m happy with how my life is right now,” he answers.

She lays her head on his shoulder. “Sometimes, I feel like you aren’t telling me everything. You know, if you think I’m just wasting my time or doing something wrong or going about this in the wrong way or something, you should just tell me. I can handle it, and I might get mad, but I promise, I won’t stay like that for long.”

What he assumes is the protagonist is trying to torture what he assumes is an alien or a villain. If he could just be transported into the TV, he could probably give some proper tips on effective torture techniques.

“I couldn’t,” she continues. “After everything we’ve been through, you’re going to be my best friend forever.”

Sighing, he moves so his arm is around her waist. “I don’t think any of that. I want you to be happy. I just wish there was more I could do.”

“Thanks,” she says. “But it’s okay. I’m just going to keep trying. Maybe lower my standards a little more.”

He focuses on the ineffective torture scene to keep from saying something she’d probably misinterpret and he’d regret.

…

When he hears the window clicking open, he knows something is wrong.

Erica isn’t physically hurt, but there’s a smell uncomfortably close to when they were in the Argent basement and the vault. Her heartbeat is rapid, she’s been crying, and her movements thrum with angry energy.

Getting up, he grabs her hand before she can get to his closet.

Slumping slightly, she moves closer to him, and he pulls her into a hug.

“Fine,” she murmurs. “I’m fine. Lowering my standards was a bad frelling idea.”

“What happened?”

“I want to change,” she says.

…

Once she’s stripped off her clothes and makeup and put on one of his long sweaters, they sit on the bed.

Her hair is straight tonight, and she hasn’t bothered taking it out of its ponytail.

Tracing his bedspread, she doesn’t look at him.

Finally, she says, “I want to have sex. I know what my family would think. I know what most churches and other religions think. I know what some people think. I don’t care. I want to have sex.”

He can’t ever blame someone for turning down sex, and he knows as well as anyone how aggressive Erica can be, but if this boy made her feel bad, if he called her names or said or insinuated there was something wrong with her wanting to have sex or something worse, he’ll do something. If he has to deal with Allison, Chris, and Scott in order to do something, they’ll learn how much he’s learned since the last time he had to face them.

“But- he didn’t even seem to care if I wanted sex or not. He just- Don’t worry, I had him on the ground before he could really do anything- oh, crap, we might have to deal with Scott and Allison, now.”

“Forget about them,” he orders. “He tried to-”

“He grabbed my breast, and when I told him it’d need to be slow and gentle, he went on about how he bought me dinner and how I used to- he was a jerk. And I want to have sex, but I don’t owe it to anyone.”

Nodding, he wraps his hand around hers.

Scooting over, she hugs him.

“I’m sorry,” he says.

…

The boy works at Steve Carlton’s Pizzeria.

After having lunch with Erica, Boyd goes, orders a small drink, and sips it until he hears the boy tell his boss he’s taking a smoke break.

He isn’t exactly surprised when he finds himself in the ladies room with a knife against his neck.

“Go ahead,” he quietly tells Allison. “You’re eighteen, now. I’m seventeen. I’ll scream, nick my throat with my claws, rub some wolfs bane in it, and even if you get rid of the knife by the time the door’s forced open, I’ll still have evidence against you. Being a felon is really going hurt your father’s business. Unless, of course, you leave and never go near his weapon-filled house.”

She looks at him with unreadable eyes. Her vitals are steady.

“He’s a jerk. Erica flipping him and kicking him- well, I really can’t say anything about that. Whatever you have planned, though-” She shakes her head.

“I’m going to scream,” he warns.

“Please, don’t,” she says with a sincerity he doesn’t quite understand. “I know you feel the need to do something, but this isn’t the answer.”

“I don’t know how your friendship with Lydia or any of the others work, but when it comes to my friendship with her, yes, it is.”

“So, she knows you’re here? She knows what you’re planning? Or at least, she knows you’re planning something,” she challenges. 

She thinks she has him, but she doesn’t.

The answer is no. The answer is, there’s a good chance Erica is going to be unhappy when she finds out.

If someone hurt him, he could tell Erica to leave things alone, he could make her look him in the eye and promise she would, and he’s willing to bet a lot she’d still find a way to hurt whoever was responsible for hurting him.

Allison sighs. “I know how this comes across, me holding a knife against your throat and saying what I’m about to say, but Deucalion is still out there, and who knows when the next supernatural threat is going to come to this town? So, I need you to listen to my heart or focus on my vitals, whatever it is that lets you know I’m telling the truth.”

He waits.

“I’m not saying this to insult Erica or make light of what happened. Do you understand that?”

The boy’s smoke break is over, and he’s back in the kitchen.

“Go ahead,” he says.

“He’s a jerk. What he did was wrong. And again, I’m not trying to insult Erica. But do you really think she’s given it much thought after she vented to you? Erica can hold a grudge. This boy, though, isn’t anything important. He insulted her, he did something no one should do to another person, and she hurt him. Then, she went to you, got the rest out of her system, and now, she’s fine. Really fine, isn’t she?”

He isn’t sure how to answer, and he wishes someone would knock on the door. He’s tired of having the knife against his throat.

“I’ve never hurt Aiden,” she says.

The fact she hasn’t doesn’t surprise him, but the randomness of the statement does.

“I’ve never even threatened him to his face,” she continues. “But I’ve wanted to do worst to him than I did to you and Erica. It’s not because he’s a werewolf or because of anything having to do with my mom. He helped kidnap people. He’s killed people. He’s done horrible things. And aside from the killing, the same can be said about me, Scott, and Stiles.”

“If you want to talk, there’s still another hour or two before his next smoke break,” he says. “But if you don’t move the knife, I’m screaming.”

She deftly withdraws the knife, sheathes it, and slips it into her pocket.

Then, she gives him a surprised, curious look.

“Let’s talk,” he suggests.

“Okay."

…

They go to a park and sit down on a bench.

“Even before Jackson turned into the kanima, I didn’t like him dating Lydia. I tried to be supportive, but I didn’t like it.” She grimaces. “Anyway, Lydia has always had a thing for bad boys. I don’t have to like it. I didn’t handle things very well when she needed me the most, but I’m trying to do better. I’m going to be there for her if she ever needs me again. If Aiden ever hurts her or hurts innocent people, I’ll do something. Unless that happens, I need to tell myself Lydia can make up her own mind and I don’t have the right to threaten someone just because they’ve done horrible things in the past.”

“You do,” he says. “I don’t think you have the right to threaten someone just because you don’t like them, but if you’d threatened Aiden because of what he’d done, I wouldn’t care. If you threatened me and Erica, you’d have the right.”

He ignores her look.

“Okay,” she says. “So- I’m dating Isaac. I know you aren’t as close to him as you are to Erica, but you still care about him. She still cares about him. You know what I can do to werewolves. You know that I stabbed him with my Chinese ring daggers.” She shudders, and he can feel the fear, shame, and self-anger radiating from her.

“This boy is human. He doesn’t know anything about werewolves and banshees and kanimas. He’ll probably never cross paths with her again. And I’m wondering what makes this different. You didn’t try to attack me when I was shooting arrows. After the vault, after the moonlight madness wore off, you even stopped Erica from going after me. What’s different here, Boyd?”

“It’s none of your business.”

“Whatever that boy deserves, having a werewolf seriously hurt him isn’t part of it. I have a responsibility to protect him. But even if you and me can never be friends, I’d much rather be on your side and Erica’s than his. Please, let me be.”

Erica is the only one he’s told deeply personal things to in a long time, but there are certain things he can’t tell her.

He can’t fully bring himself to believe he’s actually considering telling them to Allison Argent.

“Your opinion has never mattered much to her,” he says. “That’s not me trying to insult you. You hurt her, and she’s healed from that as best as she can. Hurting you back, I’ve always known that it’d probably make things even worse for everyone, especially her.”

“Whenever she goes on a date, she usually sneaks into my room later. I have to deal with the most wonderful person I know feeling insecure and lonely and hopeless. And I can’t do much. Even without you and your dad, I wouldn’t hurt or threaten someone for not having sex with her. But he hurt her in a different way, and I can and will do something about it.”

“Are you in love with her?”

He rolls his eyes. “She wanted to practise kissing with me once. If I asked her on a date, she’d say yes.”

“Aren’t you confident,” is her sarcastic reply.

“No. I know her. I know that she finds me attractive enough that, if I told her I’d changed my mind, she’d be willing to do certain things with me. I know that, even though we’re best friends, if I suggested we try being more, it wouldn’t take her long to jump on it, because, she’s wanted a boyfriend for a very long time.”

“And,” he continues, “I’ve almost died. Even worse, she’s almost died. So, if I wanted more, I’d have already gone for it.”

“Hmm.”

He looks over at her.

“If you go after him, I will try to stop you.”

“And if I have to, I’ll fight you,” he responds.

…

Unfortunately, Allison stays nearby until it’s time for Boyd’s shift.

…

When he goes to the bakery to pick Erica up, she kisses his cheek. “We need to stop at my house.”

He nods. “Want to take the bus?”

“Yeah. I’ll fix dinner while we’re there. Unless you’re eating with your mom?”

“No.”

She squeezes his hand.

…

When they get to her house, she takes a deep breath. “Um, Boyd? Can I ask you a question?”

“Is everything alright?”

If the boy called, emailed, or texted her, or if some of his friends came and gave her a hard time-

Shaking her head, she moves closer to him. “I’m fine,” she promises.

His senses confirm she’s nervous but otherwise physically and emotionally unharmed.

He starts playing with her hair. “What’s going on?”

“Allison came by today,” she says, and he feels his stomach drop. “And I’m not really sure why, to be honest, but she- she asked if you and me- I told her no, of course, but-” She takes another deep breath. “Look, I made a promise, okay? So, uh, are you in love with me?”

It comes out rushed, and he doesn’t need his werewolf senses to know she’s close to bolting to her room.

“A promise? What do you mean?”

He’s sure Allison thinks she was being kind and helpful.

This is one of the cruellest things she’s ever personally done to him.

“Somehow, and by the way, I still think we should reconsider my whole kidnapping and dissecting plan, you totally know how all my favourite characters who are into torture should go about it, and we can handle everyone if we just have a foolproof, kickass plan, she got me to promise I’d ask you that. Um, so, if you could just say no, we can forget this. Unless you’re willing to go with the aforementioned plan. Or the answer’s yes. Then, we need to talk.”

She looks at him, and it’s almost too much.

He’s seen sleepy hazel eyes look up at him, seen them almost literally sparkle with excitement when comic books and certain movies and shows were involved, seen them sharp and hard and almost hawk-like as she studied something she didn’t like, and he’s seen them when they were soft, warm, and looking at him with interest.

He’s rarely seen them study him with such observant intensity.

Her hair’s back to it’s frizzy nature, and she’s taken her hairnet off but not the hair sticks out she often uses to hold it up when she goes out. She’s still in her uniform, and she has various smudges of sugars, powders, and jellies all over her.

If he were different, of course, he wouldn’t be able to help but wanting her.

He isn’t different, though, and he has no idea how to explain.

She can understand homosexuality, and like the majority of Beacon Hills, she objects to discrimination against it and homosexuals on general grounds and would object aggressively and, likely, painfully if anyone she cared about was hurt or ostracised because of their orientation.

She can understand a person needing to be in a serious relationship before physicality enters the equation.

She could probably understand loving someone but just not being attracted to them.

If he tried to explain asexuality- she may or may not be able to grasp it, but he’s sure she wouldn’t be able to understand if he tried to fully explain his feelings towards her.

“I love you,” he says. “You’re my best friend.”

Even though she nods, she still stares at him.

“We need to talk,” he realises aloud.

“I’ll get the popcorn.”

…

She makes white chocolate popcorn.

“Do you know what asexuality is?”

She frowns. “I think Harris said something about it once. It had something to do with plants or insects?”

He wonders if he should do some research and try to find an asexual comic character. He doesn’t think there are any in the shows and movies she loves.

She tosses popcorn at his head, and he jumps.

“You have that look,” she accuses. “That one where you think I’m not smart enough to understand something, and you’re trying to figure out how to dumb it down.”

“I don’t think anything needs to be dumbed down for you,” he protests. “You sometimes have to figure out how to explain plotlines and character arcs to me, because, I just don’t understand them like you do. And sometimes, you don’t understand things the way I do.”

She sighs. “Really, a ‘yes’ or ‘no’ isn’t something that needs a lot of explaining.”

“I don’t want to ever have sex,” he blurts out. “I don’t like the thought of kissing. I mean, I like it when you kiss me on the cheek, but making out? I don’t like that. I’m not gay, and I don’t know if what happened to Alicia has anything to do with it, but I don’t like the idea that it might.”

“Okay,” she says with a puzzled look.

He squirms.

Finally, she says, “I don’t care how self-centred this makes me. You seem to be fine with this. If you’re not, I’ll try my best to help you. But right now, can we get back to the part where you still haven’t answered if you’re in love with me?”

He knows he’s gaping.

Waving her hands, she continues, “When you didn’t want to practise kissing, that didn’t stop me from being your friend, did it? And honestly, I’m going to be pissed if you’ve been in love with me all this time and made me my waste all this time trying to find some boy when I could have just had you, but that’s okay. I wouldn’t be the kind of girlfriend who-”

There are times when she utterly confuses him.

Then, there are times when it goes beyond utter confusion.

“Erica,” he interrupts. “You and I are never going to be boyfriend and girlfriend. I love you. You’re my best friend. I want you to be happy, and I’d do anything to keep you safe. But I don’t even want to kiss you, let alone- You want to have sex. And if that’ll make you happy, I want that for you.”

“I’ve been in love with you for a long time.”

There’s- she-

He vaguely wonders if the fact everything is literally spinning is a sign he’s about to die.

As he tries to concentrate on his breathing, he reflects he never had a problem with the cruelty inside her until it was turned against him.

How could she say such a thing, and with such casualness, he finds himself screaming inside.

“Boyd.”

Her voice and gentle touch brings everything back to normal clarity.

“I can’t give you what you want,” he says.

“What I want is you,” she counters. “None of the boys made me feel anything close to what you do. I’d rather be your girlfriend and you be my boyfriend than have sex.”

“And what about the other things? I don’t want to-”

“We don’t have to kiss.” She pauses. “What about a short, close-lipped kiss before we go to sleep? It’s just, that’s something I’ve always thought married people and people living together, you know, romantically, did before they went to sleep. Would that be too much? I could settle for kissing you on the cheek like usual. Do you think you could kiss mine, though, too?”

“That kind of kiss would be fine,” he answers. “It’s not something I- I wouldn’t mind it. But- the point is, Erica, you want to have sex. And if you think having a boyfriend will help you, I promise you, it will won’t. It might attract more jerks, but-”

He stops at her glare.

“Is that what you think of me? That I’d cheat?”

“No,” he quickly assures her. “I’ve never cared about you wanting to have sex. Like I said, if it makes you happy-”

“Oh, for God’s sake!” Standing up, she looks down. “I’ve put my freaking heart on the line. You don’t want to have sex or kiss? Fine. I still really want some certain ultra-rare first editions, but I’ve accepted that’s probably never going to happen. If you’re in love with me, you’re going to be my boyfriend, and some things will be different, but it can mostly stay the same.”

He’s never claimed to know the inner workings of Erica Reyes’s mind, but he can safely say he does know her better than almost anyone.

Or at least, he thought he did, because, the idea Erica might just accept asexuality as valid rather than- he always expected, if it came out, she’d worry and try to insist he, at least, try to find a girl or boy who could provoke the reactions most of the population experiences out of him.

He’s even more surprised she seems willing to try having an asexual relationship. She’s a sexual being, and for as long as he’s known her, she’s been looking for ways to move from just having a healthy libido to having a healthy sex life.

“Don’t get mad,” he says.

Of course, her hazel eyes flash golden, and he realises how stupid it is to tell someone who’s already passed ‘mad’ into ‘angry’ this.

“Do you understand what this really means? This isn’t a phase, Erica. As beautiful as you are, and as much as I love you, I’m never going to want to have sex with you.”

“You’re more focused on that than I am!”

This is a different kind of terror than he felt facing Allison’s arrows or the alphas. He can see all the ways this could end horribly.

The fact Erica’s in love with him hits him in another wave.

Standing up, he pulls her into a hug. “I’ve been in love with you for a long time, too,” he says.

She pinches him. “Woulda been nice if you’d told me then,” she huffs.

“You didn’t tell me either.”

Stepping back a little, she makes a face at him. “The only thing I knew about asexuality was that it involved Harris droning on about insects or plants. And you knew that was likely the case. When you said you only wanted to be with someone you were serious about, I thought that was your nice way of saying you could never be serious about me! You could have just explained how you were different from most people.”

He supposes she might have a point.

“Anyway,” she grabs his hand and pulls him back down onto the couch, “we can figure it out as we go along. If we get married someday, we’re definitely going to need to have a serious talk about children, but sixteen is way too young. Also, you need to help me order a vibrator online. I can do without sex, but somehow, someway, I’m going to finally experience an orgasm.”

A sense of relief washes over him, and he kisses her cheek.

She snuggles against him. “Do you want to sleep here or go to your house tonight? I’m not sure how Mama’s going to take all this, but she’s getting closer to liking you.”

Amused, he corrects, “She still wants to kill me.”

“I’ve told you, she’d want to kill any boy I dated. I promise, she’s closer to liking you. Just like she’s closer to forgiving me,” she adds a bit glumly.

He tightens his hold. “We can stay here. What do you want to watch?”

…

In the morning, when they meet Isaac and Allison, Erica sits in his lap and declares, “Boyd and I are dating now. And I’ll buy breakfast for you two today.”

Isaac tilts his head. “Why? And, uh, congratulations.”

Smiling at Allison, Erica tells Issac, “Because, I owe your girlfriend. Still not completely over what happened last summer, but we’re good.”

“Congratulations you two,” Allison says. “You don’t need to buy us breakfast. If Boyd will just stay away-”

“Yeah, don’t worry,” Erica interjects. She nuzzles her cheek against his. “We’re focusing on this relationship, not on bad dates I’m ready to put behind me.”

He nods.

…

After dinner, she curls up beside him. “Read to me.”

“We need to talk,” he says.

Sitting up, she produces her fangs. “One day. We’ve been a couple for one day. And we’re already having the ‘we need to talk’ conversation?”

“There’s not a problem,” he quickly says. “I just think we should talk some about boundaries.”

Her fangs disappear, and she nods. Curling back up against him, she says, “Okay. You go first.”

“I don’t care if you have sex. If it makes you happy, keep trying to find -”

“Well, I do." Sighing, she says, “Boyd, I don’t know how I’ll feel in the future. But right now, I don’t want to find someone to have sex with. I want us to just be us. You’re hot, and yeah, I’ve fantasised about you. It isn’t the reason I’m in love with you. And commitment isn’t just saying I’m your girlfriend and you’re my boyfriend. It’s more important, and right now, it means I’m going to focus on you.”

The warmness in his chest would be terrifying if it didn’t feel so good.

Rubbing her nose against his neck, she continues, “If things change, I’ll talk to you, and if they do for you, you can talk to me. Right now, I’m good with learning how to have an orgasm by myself. If the vibrator doesn’t work, you’re helping me look up other sex toys and possibly tips, but don’t worry, you don’t have to be around when I try them out.”

He nods, but he can’t help feel guilt and a sense of wrongness.

Erica’s wanted sex for a long time, and he doesn’t want to be the reason she’s not getting it. Unlike rare comic book editions, it is something she could have, given a little more time.

“What about you? No sex or making out. Anything else?”

“I don’t think so.”

Sitting up, she asks, “Is that all for now?”

Smiling, he nods.

“Good. No tongue, I promise. Can I kiss you?”

When he nods, she leans over and presses her lips against his.

The physical sensation doesn’t do anything for him, but when she pulls away and gives him a warm smile and looks at him with soft eyes, his stomach reacts pleasantly.

“Will you read to me, now?”

“Yeah.” He grabs a book off his nightstand.

Lying down fully, she wraps her arms around his waist. “I love you.”

“I love you, too.”


End file.
